HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANK

Today Frank is 27. I called him after 6:45 p.m., when he was really 27 years old. Frank is our oldest son, and a 1LT in the National Guard. We are truly blessed and proud to call him our son. It has been a pleasure to watch him grow up to be the fine young man he is now. Yes, there were times when I wanted to ring his dear little neck but I let him survive to adulthood. There were times when I felt I just plain didn't know who this kid was standing in front of me, and there were times he was close to my heart.

The milestones have come and gone, and there will certainly be more.

The day he was finally born (he was almost a 10 month baby) was full of much needed joy. I was three months pregnant when my Dad died so having a baby was a gift of life for life. I remember seeing him for the first time and thought to myself, he doesn't have dark hair like David. Instead, here was this darling blond hair, blue eyed baby looking like he was ready to take on the world.

His first step at 10 months, his first word "bobby" at 9 months. His first doggie he called "nooker" and the cat he called "she she."

At 13 months Frank became big brother to John and he immediately adored him. I remember Frank standing at the playpen to just look at the baby sleeping and calling out "baby seep."

Frank's first day at school, going to kindergarten was a milestone for him. He was a big boy then. There were some difficult times in school for him, but he got through them and made us proud.

I chewed down all of my fingernails on Frank's first kayak trip about Lopez Island when he was 12. I spent the entire week with my rosary in my pocket. He came back a changed boy. He had grown up on that trip and had experienced another part of our world.

Frank went to wrestling camp only to break his leg. During the 6 weeks he was on crutches he grew three inches. I wondered if this was just a warning of what was to be of his wrestling career.

When Frank started high school it was a whole new world for all of us. He became the football player and wrestler. His last wrestling match his Senior year brought tears of relief to my eyes that his neck was still intact. It was a thrill to stand on the football field at his last game wearing his 70 pound letterman jacket.

Off to college Frank went and he was living "away from home." The nest was starting to empty out, giving us a whole year having John as an "only" child and enjoying the opportunity. Frank chose to go through ROTC to help pay for his college education. When he started in 1999 our world was at peace and our country didn't have wars to send our young soldiers to.

When Frank went to basic training in South Carolina, we all went down for his graduation in July (only for a son). Another proud moment. Hotter than hell, and the humidity was merciless, but worth it.

When Frank graduated from College and received his commission, we all knew he would be eventually going to Iraq. There were some bittersweet feelings that day.

The day Frank came up to Edgar's Acres and told us he was being deployed to Iraq was the day time stood still for me. I knew it was coming, but still wasn't prepared for the reality of it. I had to stop and think of how I was going to react. After all, I was now an officer's mother.

For one year I prayed all day for the safety of my son, and the soldiers under his command. Frank is the reason for sending stockings to the troops during the holidays.

The day he came back from Iraq was like a full circle for me. The flight was delayed, the plane was late, it was like waiting for a baby to be born. The moment I saw him walking down the concourse toward the waiting crowd was probably the biggest relief I have ever experienced, I lost 100 pounds off of my shoulders. I felt glued to the spot, only to be nudged on by David. I just can't describe how I felt, to see him home again. I did manage to keep my composure and act as an officer's mother should act.

Yes, that was probably the best day of our lives, for all of us.

I know it was for John, Frank's "little" brother.

I love this picture. These two brothers are thrilled to be back together again. Frank is on the left with the "desert" watch on. John is wearing the striped shirt. And no, they aren't twins.

Happy Birthday Frank. We all love you. Thank you for being who you are.

Mom xoxoxo

We're up to 718 Stockings

Look at these. These stockings and cards are from a local Girl Scout Troop. The cards are very dear and the stockings beautiful. The girls decorated the felt stockings with glitter and gems. These are very precious to the soldiers.Peg has been busy crocheting again this year and sent in this beautiful bunch of stockings. Peg, how long have you been crocheting up stockings for this year, anyway?

Arlayne sewed these beautiful stockings for our soldiers. Look at the beautiful fabrics she used.

La Shona crocheted these lovely stockings. We will have to make sure the one of these stockings is in the box we are sending to her uncle.

Emily learned to crochet last year doing stockings for us. She is still crocheting and has done these beautiful stockings.

As I said, that brings the total up to 718 stockings, and we have seven soldiers we will be sending stockings to. We have plenty so if you know of someone who would like to receive stockings of love and support, please let me know.

On another note, doesn't Edgar look comfy?

Here's the Teddy Bear Blanket I've been working on. I'm in the middle of the last repeat. It's funny how I can't see the bears while working on it, but once I layed it out on the ottoman, I could see them clearly. As I mentioned before, this is knit with two strands of worsted yarn, and I think it may be a bit heavy for a baby. However, it will be a great blankie for a toddler to drag around. I may try using a single strand of yarn next time, which will mean more repeats of these darling bears.

Well, it was a grueling day at work today so I'm off to join David and the doggies in the living room, and have a glass of wine while dinner cooks.

Sue

Question for You!

Why is this dude holding a baseball bat instead of skis for the Panda Ski Mask? Does this seem odd to you?

Sue

More Stockings!

I received 13 more stockings from Kristine yesterday bringing our total up to 611. I'm going to take in several hundred to work on Friday because Deb and Sandra are putting together a stocking stuffing party to help out. I am anticipating receiving a couple hundred more this week. I know there are two ladies still crocheting away on stockings, and one cub scout pack putting together about 100.

We will be stuffing stockings here at the house on Sunday, December 2. We postponed it by one week because Thanksgiving was early this year and we still are waiting for stockings.

All of the stockings we have received are so beautiful and each one carries a message of love and support. I had someone ask me last week why we were doing these stockings again this year. The comment was "aren't you just tired of this war?" I response was "this is about the soldiers that won't be home for the holidays, no politics."

So far we will be sending stockings to:

Virginia's son Rick

La Shona's uncle Jay

Cindy's son Jer

Our friend Lt. Lisa

and Peter's nephew Kainoa

We need to let these young people know we think about them and that they are included in our prayers.

Again, if you know of anyone who should receive stockings this year, please email me at ramsddj at aol dot com.

Thank you again to all of you who have provided stockings, items for the stockings, and cash for postage. God will truly bless you!

Sue

Football and Knitting

Yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m., Frank, John and I headed off to Tacoma for the high school semi-final games. Why? Well because O'Dea was playing against Bellevue at 9:00 a.m. It isn't often that I get to hang out with the guys so I was up and ready to go at 7:00. We hooked up with the Walshes and saw a lot of other guys that went to high school with Frank and John.

Of course, O'Dea won and it was a great game.

This also meant I had close to two hours of knitting time. Of course I took my knitting. I got the first repeat of the Teddy Bear Blanket done on the way down to Tacoma, and got started on the second repeat on the way back.

It case you're wondering .... I did NOT take my knitting into the game. I think that would be crossing the line as far as Frank and John are concerned.

In the afternoon Susan called and asked if I wanted to go for coffee. I looked around the house and here was Frank asleep on the couch with A.J. sleeping on his chest. John was downstairs playing Halo. Edgar was asleep in a sun spot on the floor. Louie was stretched out on the ottoman, and even Johnny was snoozing on the loveseat. David was still at work. Coffee with Susan sounded like a great idea. I told Frank he was responsibile for dog sitting while I was out, and off I went. What a lovely respite this was.

Susan and Cynthia came over last night for a sip n' knit and we had a great time. It's always good to catch up with them. They are very special ladies and very good friends.

It was a lovely day overall.

Sue

Pies and Teddybears

We had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday. It was a day of outstanding food, special friends, good drink, and of course, pies and teddybears.

As I mentioned earlier, we went to the Walshes for Thanksgiving. My assignment was dessert, which was pumpkin and pecan pies. I've made many a pumpkin pie, it was the pecan pie I was worried about. Nothing like making a brand new dessert with an untried recipe and taking it to someone's house for dessert. After all, I do have a reputation to maintain.



I started with the pumpkin pies since I am comfortable with that task.


First of all, lay out all of the ingredients for the pie. Last check to make sure I have what I need before the grocery store closes at noon.

I layed out the ingredients for both pies ... need that comfort level for the new, and untried recipe.

For the pumpkin pie I put the pumpkin, sugar and spices in the bowl, and mixed well with my 25 year old Mixmaster.

After that I mixed together the eggs and half n' half and blended it with the pumpkin mixture.

Until it was all smooth and creamy.

Then I poured the mixture into the two "prepared" pie shells.

I put them in the oven for 50 minutes, and then ...

I went over to the kitchen table to sit, sip and knit.

I should point out that the "sip" portion of the "sit, sip and knit" exercise consisted of coffee (it was 8:00 in the morning after all).

This is the darling teddy bear baby blanket by Crystal Palace. Since I have 8 babies to be knitting for I was anxious to get started on this blanket. I haven't been able to locate the colors I want in the new Merino 5 so I am using Plymouth Yarns Encore. Between the time I had yesterday and the time today I have done one repeat. It's going to be cute.

Anyway, back to the pies.

I love the smell of pumpkin pies baking. It reminds me of Aunt Vera and Marguerite and the many, many Thanksgivings we had at their house in what used to be the "country" in Beaverton, Oregon. The smell of the spices fills the whole house with love and comfort.

These came out really, really nice and made me proud of myself.

Well on to the new and untested pecan pie recipe. Again, I set out all of the ingredients, including the bourbon (since I didn't have rum).

The pecans were sent to us from Louisanna and have been in the freezer for a couple of years. I had David taste test them to make sure they tasted okay since I had no idea what a pecan tasted like. After eating a handful, David declared they were perfect.

In the bowl I put in the Karo Syrup, white sugar, salt, eggs, melted butter, and the bourbon. After that was blended to perfection by the trusty Mixmaster, I used a spoon, and stirred in the pecans. After everthing was mixed up nicely I poured the mixture into the pie shells.

Since I want everyone to see my dirty oven I decided to take this picture. See, I'm not a perfect housekeeper by any means (I know you've been concerned).

Another 40 minutes of sit, sip and knit.

David officially said they looked beautiful and we all enjoyed the smell of whiskey floating through the house.

The pies were a big hit. The pecan pie passed the "I don't think I like pecan pie" test." All of the guys were raving about it, and some even had seconds. I took two and brought back one half. Between the pumpkin and the pecan pies, we ended up bring home one whole pie. Makes me feel good.

We got more stockings today. Two of our stocking ladies have been running their sewing machines.

Kristine sent these 12 stockings and said more are coming. They all have bells on them and so cute.

Melinda made 62 stockings and each one has a holiday card in it. She also sent along donations for postage from her and some of her co-workers.

We now have 598 stockings and $530.00 toward postage and items for the stockings.

You will note that those darling stockings from the Preceptor Alpha Nu Sisters are not on the table. Edgar and his little buddies, Louie, A.J. and Johnny are just too interested in them. Yesterday morning they had a plan. Edgar got one of the stockings down off of the table and spilled the candy cane, bubble gum, and peppermint. That gave each of the doggies a piece of candy/gum to chew. Within 30 minutes we had doggie wommit that smelled like peppermint all over the place, and one dog finally needed help getting the bubble gum out of his mouth and off of his face. They thought it was great fun for a few minutes until the plan backfired on them.

Hummm ... I smell fresh coffee.

Sue

Pies and Stockings

The Preceptor Alpha Nu Sisters of Beta Sigma Phi International sent in their stockings. There are 24 already stuffed stockings for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are lovely and packed with goodies.

The Alpha Nu Sisters all live in The Dalles, Oregon, which is located in the Columbia River Gorge, at the beginning of Easter Oregon.

We now have 524 stockings, but there is still room on the table for more.

Deb and Sandra at work are putting together a stuffing party on the 30th to help stuff stockings. Isn't that nice? I work with very nice people who have been supportive in everything I do, and in everything I have had to go through.

This year we are going to the Walshes again for Thanksgiving. We are all in good physical condition which is a good thing. The first year we went to the Walshes, Mom had a heart attack and we had to call in the good looking paramedics to take her to the emergency room. The second time we went, I ended up in the emergency room the next day for a ruptured ovarian cyst. Last year we went and Chiya assured us that 911 was on call. Fortunately, it was a very healthy Thanksgiving.

I'm taking pies again. I make great pumpkin pies, and I've been asked to bring them, as well as a pecan pie. I've never made a pecan pie but I guess there is a first time for everything.

My pumpkin pie recipe is a recipe my Great Aunt Vera got out of her Gourmet Cooking Cookbook, many, many years ago. Here it is:

AUNT VERA'S PUMPKIN PIE

1 cup sugar
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
1/4 t. mace
1/2 t. vanilla
1 can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 c. half & half

(and in my case, Marie Callendar pie crusts)

Add sugar, salt and spices to pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Beat eggs. Add cream to eggs and mix together. Add eggs and cream to pumpkin mixture, mix thoroughly. Pour filling in a pan lined with unbaked pastry. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean.

This recipe is pretty generous so it fills both pie crusts in the package.

Now to make a Pecan Pie. I found a recipe in my old standby, the Joy of Cooking Cookbook that I got as a bridal shower present from Debbie. David is from Louisiana and Pecan Pie is a real tradition in that part of the U.S. David has never asked me to make a Pecan Pie, but I could tell this evening that he likes the idea of me giving it a try. We'll see what happens come Thursday morning when I start of the oven and make the pies. Do you think it might look like this? Who knows.

I may take pictures.

Sue